Viva Italia vs Med. Magic Cruise?

[mapsd]

Will be our family's 1st time to Europe (14 & 11 y.o. girls). Can anyone compare the experience of these 2 trips? Costs? It seems like the cruise's base price is less, but I'm sure there's more expenses for excursions.

Italy is our primary goal of things to see, but want to maximize our experience as well.

Any help/comments?

 

[sayhello]

Will be our family's 1st time to Europe (14 & 11 y.o. girls). Can anyone compare the experience of these 2 trips? Costs? It seems like the cruise's base price is less, but I'm sure there's more expenses for excursions.

Italy is our primary goal of things to see, but want to maximize our experience as well.

Any help/comments?

Are you asking about comparing Viva Italia to the ABD add-on for the DCL Med cruise? It will be easier to answer your question if I know if you're looking at the 10/11 night Med cruise or the 7 night Med cruise (since you see less of Italy on the 7 night Med cruise), and whether you're looking at the ABD add-on or not. I've taken the 11 night Med cruise with the ABD add-on, and can answer from that point of view, based on things I've been told about Viva Italia.

Sayhello

 

[mapsd]

Are you asking about comparing Viva Italia to the ABD add-on for the DCL Med cruise? It will be easier to answer your question if I know if you're looking at the 10/11 night Med cruise or the 7 night Med cruise (since you see less of Italy on the 7 night Med cruise), and whether you're looking at the ABD add-on or not. I've taken the 11 night Med cruise with the ABD add-on, and can answer from that point of view, based on things I've been told about Viva Italia.
Sayhello

What is the ABD add-on?
We were thinking the 10/11 n cruise, but curious about what land excursions will cost 7 how much time we'd have in port to see Italy.

 

[tufbuf]

We have done both and you cannot go wrong with either! Your kids are big enough to experience the full potential of each trip. The nice thing about Viva Italia is you get to immerse yourself in the city and have more time exploring it. You also have the chance to see the city at night. The cruise gives you a taste of the city and you are limited to the excursion you choose. It also feels a bit rushed since you have to be back on the ship a certain time. Needless to say, the 11 night Med cruise we did with Disney is one of the best vacations we have, up there with our Viva Italia trip. We did not do the ABD add on since I was too late too book and filled up in a week but the excursions were great. We are a family of three and we spent $2800 on excursions, the cost of the ABD dd on is about the same times 3.

Whichever you choose, I am quite sure you will have a fantastic time!

 

[sayhello]

What is the ABD add-on?
We were thinking the 10/11 n cruise, but curious about what land excursions will cost 7 how much time we'd have in port to see Italy.

ABD does an add-on to the cruise that covers basically all your excursions on shore (and many of the the Italy ones overlap with the Viva Italia and Bella Italia experiences). It also covers activities onboard. It was an ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS way to see the Med. The main problem I had was having to leave the ports and go back to the nice, but rather generic cruiseship, rather than staying in hotels in the center of the action like you do on Viva Italia. But you *do* have very long days in Italy on the cruise.

Here's a link that takes you to the description of the add-on. Also, if you check my signature, I have a link to my Trip Report for the Med cruise with the ABD add-on.

http://abd.disney.go.com/abd/en_US/destination?name=MedCruiseLandingPage

Let me know if you have any specific questions, I'd be *happy* to answer them!

Sayhello

 

[mapsd]

It sounds like the land tour might be best for us.
We're considering arriving early and taking side trip to Pompei.
Any other sites that Viva Italia doesn't cover you'd recommend?

 

[sayhello]

It sounds like the land tour might be best for us.
We're considering arriving early and taking side trip to Pompei.
Any other sites that Viva Italia doesn't cover you'd recommend?

If you're going to Pompeii, you'll be most of the way towards Sorrento and Capri on the Amalfi Coast. Both were gorgeous. I'd highly recommend checking them out.

Or, if you decide to hit more Northern Italy, I've heard that the Cinque Terre is a beautiful area. It's near the port of La Spezia (that the cruiseships use for Florence). Five towns built into the cliffs along the shore.

Sayhello

 

[tufbuf]

If you are up to it time-wise and cost-wise, you can do back to back ABD Viva Italia and Bella Italia. The latter covers Naples and surrounding cities. There is an overlap though, both make stops in Florence. Florence though is a great place to shop for gold jewelry and leather goods, I don't mind staying there twice over. We had one family who did just that, did the two Itlay ABD tours.

 

[Phil Cirrone]

Thank you guys for all this info it will help me plan my trip.

 

[OhioDisneyDavid]

What is the ABD add-on?
We were thinking the 10/11 n cruise, but curious about what land excursions will cost 7 how much time we'd have in port to see Italy.

ABD does an add-on to the cruise that covers basically all your excursions on shore (and many of the the Italy ones overlap with the Viva Italia and Bella Italia experiences). It also covers activities onboard. It was an ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS way to see the Med. The main problem I had was having to leave the ports and go back to the nice, but rather generic cruiseship, rather than staying in hotels in the center of the action like you do on Viva Italia. But you *do* have very long days in Italy on the cruise.

Here's a link that takes you to the description of the add-on. Also, if you check my signature, I have a link to my Trip Report for the Med cruise with the ABD add-on.

http://abd.disney.go.com/abd/en_US/destination?name=MedCruiseLandingPage

Let me know if you have any specific questions, I'd be *happy* to answer them!

Sayhello

I want to echo SayHello's recomendations and be sure to look at her Trip Report, it is outstanding and will answer many of your questions. (It will probably bring up more.)

We just booked our DCL plus ABD add-on for August. The cost for two of us is $4,300. Booking premium onboard excursions would have been around $3,000. There are LOTS of bonus features that are hard to match without ABD. Can you do it cheaper? Absolutely, but you will not get the same VIP treatment. We are looking forward to our trip because we are worth it!

Dave

 

[sayhello]

I want to echo SayHello's recomendations and be sure to look at her Trip Report, it is outstanding and will answer many of your questions. (It will probably bring up more.)

We just booked our DCL plus ABD add-on for August. The cost for two of us is $4,300. Booking premium onboard excursions would have been around $3,000. There are LOTS of bonus features that are hard to match without ABD. Can you do it cheaper? Absolutely, but you will not get the same VIP treatment. We are looking forward to our trip because we are worth it!

Dave

Congrats! I really think you're going to love it! I'm looking forward to hearing your report!

Sayhello

 

[Ivory]

We did the Viva Italia in 2009 and the Baltic Cruise last summer. While both are great, it depends what kind of experience you are looking for. I found the cruise more expensive because you have to pay for your excursions and they can really add up they are not cheap. The Viva Italia, you are really living in the city and meeting with locals and going out on your own as well as the tours that are pre-planned for you. I found I spent less on the Viva Italia out of pocket once there, and I really LOVED it! the experience is fantastic. The cruise is great too, but more rushed and you go back to the ship at night. On the ABD we where able to go for dinner on our own and walk to the spanish steps and the fountain of Trevi, and really experience it.

Cant go wrong with either, but I did love the Viva Italia a teensy bit more, hope that helps.